I had an anniversary last week and forgot all about it. Fortunately, it wasn't my wedding anniversary so my wife wasn't upset.

The anniversary was Bonesville's 10th and that's something of a milestone. We've closed a decade of bringing analysis and insight to East Carolina athletics.

When Bonesville editor and publisher Danny Whitford launched the website in August of 2001, Steve Logan was Pirates football coach, Bill Herrion was the basketball coach, Keith LeClair was the baseball coach and Mike Hamrick was athletic director.

The Murphy Center had yet to rise at the west end of Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium and Clark-LeClair Stadium was still in the conceptual stage.

The last 10 years have been characterized by significant change, growth and drama in ECU sports.

The parallels between flooding and football during the 1999 football season, which were resurrected by the recent deluge generated by Hurricane Irene, gave me a sense of nostalgia watching tape of the 1999 College Football Disney Award which went to the ECU program for the inspirational manner in which it dealt with adversity. The comeback win over Miami in Raleigh provided a tremendous emotional lift for a devastated region.

That 27-23 triumph over the Hurricanes on Sept. 25, 1999, and the Peach Bowl conclusion to the 1991 season are at the top of many Pirates' lists of their most memorable moments in ECU history.

ECU has had many more victories to cherish in the Bonesville era. Here's my personal top 10 in terms of drama.

10. (Purple and) Gold Medal for Merritt

LaShawn Merritt was only at ECU for a portion of his freshman year but Pirates were proud to claim him when he won the gold medal in the 400 meter in the Beijing Olympics in 2008, pulling away from Jeremy Wariner, who had dominated the event, with a race approach engendered by former Pirates track coach Bill Carson. Coincidentally, Merritt's gold on Aug. 21, 2008, came on the seventh anniversary of my first Bonesville column.

9. Breaking with Basketball Tradition

Under the leadership of first-year coach Jeff Lebo, East Carolina assured its first winning basketball season in 14 years with a 68-57 win at home on Senior Night over traditional Conference USA kingpin Memphis on March 2, 2011. Senior guard Jontae Sherrod scored 28 points and the Pirates went on to their first Conference USA Tournament wins as well as their first postseason appearance since 1993.

8. Pirates Pluck Gamecocks

Devin Harris hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the baseball regional championship with South Carolina. Harris later stroked the game-winning single in the bottom of the 10th, lifting top-seeded East Carolina to a 10-9 victory on June 1, 2009. The game validated the construction of Clark-LeClair Stadium, giving the Pirates a home field advantage in the NCAA Tournament with 5,047 witnesses to Harris' heroics.

7. 0-for-ACC Over

East Carolina had never beaten an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent in basketball in 57 tries, but on N.C. State's first hoops trip to Greenville on Dec. 8, 2007, the streak came to an end. Sam Hinnant was on, hitting a career-high 30 points in a 75-69 milestone ECU win over the Wolfpack. ECU fans stormed the court. State has not made a return trip.

6. Dousing LeClair's van in Kinston

East Carolina hosted the 2002 Conference USA Baseball Tournament at Grainger Stadium in Kinston. Pirates coach Keith LeClair, immobilized in his battle with Lou Gehrig's Disease, watched the championship from a blue van parked in foul territory near right field. Davey Penny pitched six innings and Neal Sears went the last three as ECU shut out Houston 4-0 for the title on May 26, 2002. The Pirates doused the van with Gatorade in tribute to their declining coach after the game.

5. Second C-USA Football Championship

East Carolina managed to outscore Houston 38-32 on Dec. 5, 2009, for the Conference USA football championship in Skip Holtz's last game at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Cougars quarterback Case Keenum gave the Pirates fits until Van Eskridge's interception in the west end zone with 42 seconds left. The win came a week after a blocked conversion kick and return by C.J. Wilson had helped ECU to a 25-20 win over Southern Miss in Greenville for the C-USA East Division title.

4. First C-USA Football Championship

Tulsa's vaunted passing attack was derailed as visiting ECU made five interceptions on Dec. 6, 2008. ECU topped the Golden Hurricane 27-24 to win its first football championship in Conference USA. The Pirates had not captured a conference championship on the gridiron since winning the Southern Conference in 1976.

3. Aloha, Broncos

When East Carolina made the trip to the 50th state to take on Boise State in the Hawaii Bowl on Dec. 23, 2007, the Pirates had not triumphed in a bowl game since beating Texas Tech in the GalleryFurniture.com Bowl in 2000. Ben Hartman hit a game-ending field goal for a 41-38 ECU win over the Broncos in Aloha Stadium.

2. Hartman Delivers Punch Line

Ben Hartman struggled with his field goal kicking throughout the game until getting an opportunity in the final seconds on Sept. 8, 2007, against North Carolina at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. He and coach Skip Holtz shared jokes before Hartman went out and hit the game winner as time expired for a 34-31 storybook win over the Tar Heels.

1. All I Do Is Win

Pirate fans remained in the stands and put their hands in the air as the refrain played over and over on Oct. 16, 2010, following a 33-27 overtime win over N.C. State at expanded Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Dominique Davis scored on a keeper in the extra session but a missed extra point left the door open for the Pack. Freshman safety Damon Magazu closed it with an interception of Russell Wilson at the goal line. There was an element of deja vu to the victory as fans at the East end of the stadium had witnessed similar theater in Ruffin McNeill's debut as head coach when a 33-yard heave by Davis was snared in the end zone by 6-foot-8 Justin Jones for a 51-49 win over Tulsa on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010.

State Line Power Rankings, 2011 Version

One thing I noticed in a recent trip to the Bonesville archives was that I used to do a weekly "State Line Power Rankings" of the seven Football Bowl Subdivision teams in North and South Carolina. As East Carolina prepares to face South Carolina at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte at 7 p.m. on Saturday, here's a poll for old times' sake.

1. South Carolina ... being picked to win the East Division in the SEC is synonymous with national championship contender.

2. Clemson ... eight starters return on offense and the Tigers have a new offensive coordinator, Chad Morris, who came from Tulsa.

3. North Carolina ... a lot of upheaval in Chapel Hill and the NCAA hammer has yet to fall, but there is still a load of talent.

4. East Carolina ... defensive improvement is essential but better talent, conditioning and scheme adjustments should pay off.

5. N.C. State ... still not sure why Russell Wilson was shown the door but do know Mike Glennon is not the same running threat.

6. Wake Forest ... dissatisfaction within and outside the locker room after a three-win season in 2010 provides incentive for improvement.

7. Duke ... until the Blue Devils show otherwise, the basement is their domain... but David Cutcliffe will make a difference some day.